TRAIN FOR TRAIL CLASS By Cathy Hanson Lesson Six Neck Reining        A top trail horse competitor MUST be able to neck rein.        Guiding is extremely important.        Neck reining means the horse guides easily where he is directed, while staying balanced between the reins.        When the horse feels light contact from the rein on his neck the horse will immediately search for the center of the reins.        When "neck reining," the horse responds to the indirect rein, not the direct rein.        Neck reining correctly allows the horse to maintain balance, fluidity and approach each obstacle with the best opportunity to work it correctly and cleanly.         A horse that does not have a good understanding of neck reining will have a lot of difficulty being guided on a tight trail course.  If the horse doesn't neck rein, most of the time he will not be arced in the correct direction.         If the horse isn't arced correctly he may at times elevate the head, gap in the mouth, lose impulsion and will not be balanced crossing the poles.       Neck reining will only be used when riding with a curb bit.       The snaffle bit is designed to be used with two hands, so always ride with a hand on each rein when using a snaffle.   Turning in the snaffle will be done with both direct rein and indirect rein being applied.        When riding in a curb, I suggest you simply beginning riding with one hand on the reins.  Choose to ride with the left or right hand; whichever is most comfortable for you.  (Riding with two hands while using a curb does have its place, but riding with one hand will help your horse learn neck reining more quickly than any other method.)        Because neck reining will be taught in the curb bit, your horse must be far enough along in his training to be relaxed and comfortable when carrying a curb.       If your horse has been in a snaffle and understands collection, gives to the bit, bends side to side and carries the bit correctly, he is ready for the curb.  (Be sure to take the course Bits, Saddle Fitting and Hoof Balance if you have any questions about how bits fit, work and are rated.)       The first curb for a horse should be a mild bit. I like a bit that has a slight curve to the mouthpiece or a very low port.  I like the young horse being introduced to a curb to have a bit with a loose shank rather than a solid attachment at the mouthpiece.       The old rule of "the rider's hands determine the severity of the bit" is true.  However, try to avoid using a bit with a high port or a long shank.  If you feel this type of bit is needed, you probably need to go back to the snaffle.       The mouth piece should be fitted so the bar is touching the corners of the mouth.  The curb chain or strap should be fitted loosely in the chin groove. (To start you should be able to put a finger between the curb strap and the chin groove…as the horse progresses you can make the strap slightly tighter for a quicker communication.) When the shank of the bit is moved toward the rider, the curb chain should begin to apply light pressure to the chin groove.        It is important to know the bit itself has nothing to do with the neck reining.       Neck reining has to do with the horse's shoulders.       Think of the reins as they hang from your hand.  They fall down the horse's shoulders.  Think of the reins being attached to the shoulders not the head or mouth. What the shoulders do dictates what the neck and head will do. The neck is the horse's balancing pole and the head hangs off the neck as a counter weight.       When a horse is turning, his nose should be turned slightly into the direction he is traveling. This is the result of the horse's body bending in the direction of travel.       If the shoulders are square and turning, the neck will arc in the correct direction.       When the rider correctly uses her legs to arc the horse's body, the neck and head will go in the correct direction.      When asking for a turn, your leg cues and hand movement will work in nearly perfect concert.  Your leg cues are established first, followed almost instantly by your hand movement.       In a turn to the left, your left leg (inside leg) is placed just behind the cinch.  The outside leg is placed slightly farther back.  The rider's knee should not bend or exaggerate the placement.       The placement of the inside leg encourages the horse to bend his body around the rider's leg.  It prevents the shoulder from dropping or leaning into the turn.       Now move your hand slightly in the direction of your turn.  I describe this movement as "opening the door".        Your hand should only move very slightly to the left of the withers.  As your hand moves your outside (right) leg pushes the horse around the turn, through the "open door", and prevents the hindquarters from swinging to the outside.

ASSIGNMENT      It may take a month or more to complete the assignment.  Take your time and don’t rush your horse.  Email me if you are having problems.  You can send a video to demonstrate the problem. 1.  Send a video of you walking a circle to the left, enter the "neutral" zone and then circle to the right. Review the second video in the lesson for guidance. 2.  Send a video of you jogging over two poles in a figure eight pattern.  Review the video of the horse and rider jogging over the poles.     Please load your videos to YouTube.  Send the links to cathyhansonqh@gmail.com

If your work in the snaffle bit has been complete, your horse will already have a pretty good start with neck reining.  During the work in the snaffle the rider's legs should always be used as described.  It is just a matter of transferring the feel of riding from two hands to one hand, and this is probably harder for the rider than for the horse.        When riding with two hands, the "door is opened" to turn by lifting the inside rein (the direct rein) or moving it slightly away from the horse's neck.  The outside rein or indirect rein is then used against the horse's neck to push the horse, telling the horse to continue to search for the center of the reins. When transferring to one hand, the movement of the hand slightly to the left or right is the same as using the direct rein with the snaffle; it "opens the door".               The indirect rein is pushed against the horse's neck and pushes the horse into seeking the center of the reins.  The leg aids are the same.

When you wish to change direction, your legs should move to a "neutral" position, allowing the horse's body to be straight for an instant. Now apply right leg pressure at the girth to tip the horse's nose into the direction of travel (opening the door) as you also apply left leg pressure away from the girth to push the horse through the turn.  As the leg cues are being given you are also moving your hand just slightly to the right to apply indirect left rein.

Watch this video demonstrating the direct and indirect rein.  Notice the horse's nose is tipped into the direction of travel.

Watch this rider demonstrate the proper hand placement for a turn to the left.

Watch this video demonstrating the move from left, to neutral and then to the right.

When neck reining successfully the following will happen when the horse is asked to make a right circle:                         • The hand moves slightly to the right.                          • The right leg is at the girth.                         • The left leg is slightly back and supporting the rib cage.                         • The left rein is gently pushed into the horse's neck.                         • The rider has her eyes up and is looking in the direction she wants to travel.        The rider stays balanced in the saddle as the horse executes a right circle. The rider should allow her shoulders to follow or be in alignment with the horse's shoulders.  The horse's body is slightly arced to the right, the horse's nose is tipped to the right, the rider can see the corner of the horse's right eye, and the horse's hind feet follow the path of the front feet.        It is not correct if the horse's head is tipped to the left, or the shoulder is leaning in or the hindquarters are swinging to the outside of the circle.  If the horse is not arced into the direction of travel, the body will be straight and almost traveling sideways to complete the circle.        To begin the process of teaching the horse to neck rein, ride in the curb bit with one hand.  This can be done with split reins or romal reins.        Ride around the arena at the jog.  I like to work on turning at the jog because the horse has more forward impulsion than at the walk, and I believe this makes learning easier for the horse.        Have a training plan.        It is so important to know what it is you are asking of your horse, and in what sequence.        Don't ride aimlessly around the arena.        Plan where you want to go on your horse, and at what gait.  When your horse is not going there, or is not moving at the gait you desire, you have a miscommunication.  What is the problem?       The horse does not understand your cue, or you are not cueing him correctly or he is being disobedient?  (Sorry, most of the time the horse is not being disobedient).  In 99 cases out of 100 it will be the first or second cause.       When training for any maneuver, the rider must always be thinking.  "What am I asking for?"  "Did the horse comply?"  Yes? No? Maybe?       If "yes" - bingo, the communication is solid; the rider asked and the horse responded.       If "no", there is a "disconnect" between rider and horse.  If there is a disconnect, the rider must then track down where the disconnect is located.  The shoulders, the rib cage, the neck, the head?  Or, is the horse really capable of doing what was asked?  Riding a green horse through a series of six-foot boxes and making left and right turns will probably not turn out so great, no matter how correct the communication.  A green horse just isn't ready for that much maneuvering.       If "maybe", the communication is partially understood. The rider must then identify the area in which the communication wasn't understood.       The incorrect, or "maybe" result can be determined by the horse's response.       The horse's head position is the result of the horse's body position, so if the horse's head position is incorrect there is your first clue.  Figure out what was not correct about his body position.       When traveling to the right, if the head is tipped to the left, then the horse's right shoulder is dropped.  To correct it, you need right leg.  The head may also be tipped to the left if the direct rein has traveled across the neck and is pulling on the left side of the bit and pulling the horse's head to the left.  This incorrect position causes the right shoulder to drop.  To correct this problem put your hand back over the center of the neck - (Do not grab the right rein and pull the horse's head to the right. Your horse already knows how to respond to a direct rein. We are teaching him to neck rein.) Apply both legs and squeeze your horse straight.  The shoulders, ribs, neck and head should become straight.  When they are, move your hand slightly and apply the inside leg to bend the horse around and the outside leg to push the horse through.        Now let's return to your plan.        Having a plan is a "must"; being sure it is "attainable" for you horse is imperative.        Ride around the arena and change direction frequently.  Riding around in one direction is good, but changing direction keeps giving you, as the communication teacher, the opportunity to assess how well your student (the horse) is receiving the request and complying.        It is not unusual for a horse to turn more easily one way than the other.  Strengthen the weak side by asking and having success on the strong side, and then going back to the weak direction.       You can add some difficulty to the exercise by placing cones or markers and ride a path around them. This will work on the accuracy of your neck reining.       When poles come into play, it is important to cross over them at the correct spot. This is done by neck reining your horse on the path needed to get to the pole and cross over it correctly.  It is your responsibility to choose the correct path and to get the horse to the obstacle in good position to work it.

Step up the difficulty a bit by using poles to create chutes.  The chutes can be parallel poles placed three feet apart (they can double as trot over's) either two poles that are straight or add some more poles to create a chute with an angled turn.  These can be done at the walk, jog or lope.  Keep your legs close to the horse to help direct him.  A common error in this type of obstacle is the rider moving her hand to much and causing the horse to wander in the chute.        The horse should be straight - turn and then be straight out of the chute.  The chute can be open on the ends at first.  Later add cross over poles so the horse has to stay between the poles and at the end of the chute cross over poles.

Practice standing in the chute.  Then ask your horse to jog or lope out of the chute.  The lope is more difficult because the horse may want to drift toward the lead requested.  Keep the hand centered over the horse's neck and maintain the horse's straight body with your legs.

After the horse is getting the idea of turning at the jog, follow the same procedure at the walk and lope.  The lope is a bit harder, because it is easier for the horse to become unbalanced.  The obstacles also come up much faster, so there is less time to negotiate.

One of the tricks is to slow your mind so you can slow your body.  If as the rider, you slow your thoughts and concentrate on riding each stride, you will find there is plenty of time to maneuver your horse to the next obstacle.         Panic on the part of a many riders eliminates them as a potential winner.  A panicked rider will tend to get quick with her hand which results in the horse getting many signals.  With all the movement going on, the horse has no idea what the rider actually wants.        Constantly strive to move your hand slowly and wait for the response.        As riders we sometimes have the tendency to ask and then if the response is not instantaneous, we ask again with a different communication signal.  This is very confusing for the horse.  Just try slowing down your thoughts and your body movements and see what happens.        If the horse is still not responding, more leg is needed - not hand.         When you are neck reining correctly, you'll be doing virtually nothing with the reins.  Your horse will be turning when you turn and look in the direction of travel and your legs are correctly placed asking for a change of direction.        Practice keeping your hand centered over the horse's neck, your legs being correctly and gently placed and waiting for the horse to give you the correct response.  Don't rush or try to force the horse to neck rein.

Watch this horse and rider demonstrate jogging over poles.  Notice the nose tip into the direction of travel, the rider guide with her legs and use minimal hand movement.